This is Not a Love Story
Autumn/Winter 2024
Rory William Docherty follows his signature design ethos, merging the poetic with the practical, expressing masculinity and femininity and blending grace and drama with the kind of easy pieces – Re- Work Levi’s, intarsia knitwear and relaxed organic cotton shirting – that have universal appeal.
It’s an approach that works across both menswear and womenswear collections: these foundations do not just appear similar but, true to the designer’s vision of fluidity, they share an identical unisex cut. “Whether the jacket feels perfectly fitted or beautifully over-sized will be unique to you,” explains Docherty. “It’s all about trying things on and deciding what size, what fit and what look works for the individual.”
Added into the womenswear collection are two skirt silhouettes. One is long and slender: an elegant crushed silk satin column dress with a classical Grecian shape. The other is shorter and more voluminous, a tulip style that looks crisp as a skirt, when tailored in white cotton, but takes on a New Romantic edge when made in printed silk, especially in dress format, complete with ruffle at the neck.
There’s a brutal romance in the colour palette drawn from Docherty;s original painting, itself reminiscent of Francis Bacon’s pinks and oranges, beiges and pale blues. Printed silks and painterly velvets display the full spectrum of colours, while single tones are picked out in pieces like the bronze bow shirt, paprika tailoring and the deep pile of a double-breasted jacket in aqua alpaca wool.
Docherty’s modern fashion language gathers layers of influence that span cultures, sub-cultures and eras. A strict double-breasted waistcoat tightens up the languid silhouette of billowing harem pants, a flowing shirt and matching tie. A classic zip-through parka hood gives a new spin on a full-length trench coat. Formal goes with casual and opulent with basic; sheepskins and silks, pinstripes and pie frill collars, tailoring and tank tops, it’s a rich mix that makes a cohesive story, ripe for individual interpretation.
